Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 2,586 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Metis Global Partners LLC lessened its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 10.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,128 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,586 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $10,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in Linde by 13.6% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 4,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,064,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Linde by 29.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 1,784 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $837,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter valued at about $208,000. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC lifted its position in Linde by 33.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paulson Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Linde in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on LIN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $516.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Linde from $475.00 to $455.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Linde from $576.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $507.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.83.

Linde Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $420.51 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $459.02 and its 200 day moving average is $463.26. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $408.65 and a 52 week high of $486.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $196.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.91.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.03. Linde had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 19.09%. The business had revenue of $8.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.350-16.450 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 4.100-4.200 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 3rd. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 40.19%.

About Linde

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South Pacific. It offers atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; and process gases, such as carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene.